#and frankly i also dont care

[galaxicnerd]

SM1L3! >:]

[okaystoptellingmetomakeanaccount]

Sorry i see post about Magica i am contractually obligated to write an essay.

American comics Magica is really inconsistent. If you’re talking Barks, then she’s barely Magical and just very smart. If you talk all other Western authors, she becomes a lot stronger in the magic department. (I think she can even fly and shit) Disney Studio (S-coded stories) Magica is Western Publishing Magica, plus Italian magica, plus Brazilian Magica. I’m pretty sure they also had that whole Magica and Mim live in a castle. American Magica was always a mishmash of whatever the hell the writers wanted. They really couldn’t care less about consistency. I think American comics Magica loses already because there is no possible character power profile to make.

Italian Magica is easy because of Alex Bertani’s attempt to make a consistent ‘canon’. She has fucking sea powers now. And you know nothing can beat water. Water is the most powerful thing on this earth. All the other ones are done for. Idc bout DT17 Magica and her shadows or whatever. You take away her necklace and shes nothing. What a bozo. Water always wins. It’s like that Doctor Who episode. Sorry about bringing up Doctor Who again, this will keep happening in other posts as well.

Im not knowledgeable enough about Brazilian Magica sadly enough. @duckolojikal need your advice on this for a full scientific assessment.

Also think you should add Danish comics Magica. Could probably merge the Dutch there too. Powerlevel is basically the same. Dutch Magica is just a little more creative and possibly nuts, though that’s more a reflection of the writers. (Bitch turned herself in a floppy disk and went into a videogame)

Danish (and Dutch) Magica is the most well known and consistent of them all and is the easiest to place, because she’s definitely the weakest, which im guessing is why you didn’t put her there. Rosa famously used that version, and it’s the one to follow Barks the closest. She has no inherent magical powers herself and just gets along with smarts and magic sticks. There is a whole witch-society and she is one of few who has no powers, so you could either see that as a weak or strong point. Danish Magica is completely self-taught as well. So I think that version is the smartest I guess? Not that that would help her when Italian Magica comes to drown her.

Aside from maybe DT17 Magica, Italian version easily wins. For DT17 you could make the argument that we haven’t seen her full powers for when the whole solar eclipse has done this and that and together with her brother ruling a whole village, but from what we have seen, it’s not much. She also seems to be pretty stupid compared to other versions.

No context, no judgement, just choose who you think will win.

Feel free to comment or reblog your reasoning. This poll isn't of any kind of important thing, just for fun.

Also, If people comment or reblog enough other versions they think could win this, I can rerun this poll next week with the other versions.

[bunnyboy-juice]

"we LOVE dykes with tummies in this household 😌" [cue timelapse of scrolling their blog to only find they rb pictures of extremely thin people, big big titty women with tiny waists, and the occasional size 12]

[freakinator]

god i hate the separation of platonic and nonplatonic ship names, what happened to having just one ship name and then tagging it as /r Ship or not

[thetriggeredhappy]

now's surely not the time but i really truly do feel like in a lot of the circles discussing social progress, along the same line that we get people arguing about gender markers on official documents when the actual solution is to remove gender markers entirely because they serve no practical purpose, i feel like we have a lot of arguments surrounding sexism and expectations in relationships and marriage equality and equity and financial abuse and marriages of convenience that are almost completely inaccessible if you're any variant of asexual/aromantic/aspec or polyamorous. what if this isn't how any of that worked. is that so crazy?

[shr0mwzrd]

I'm convinced by the way y'all are acting about it that these alleged AFAB transfems don't exist outside your brains - like all y'all are just vaguing and pearl clutching without mentioning or linking to a single instance of this alleged atrocity. Even if they did exist, just block them and be normal for fucks sake. I'm so fucking tired of seeing these same bullshit takes over and over, especially from nominally leftist queers...do better

[lokh]

oughh i wanted to do a cute laishuro take on the blu ray extras (what if laios had been eaten instead) but lets be honest. they absolutely would not have made it as far without laios

[y3ahwhat3ver]

Been seeing this over and over and it's sort of been annoying me but. Valentino and Alastor are not even remotely comparable. Like. Look I may be a bit biased bc I like Alastor and don't like Valentino beyond the funny moments he has but like.

Okay. Alastor sucks. Like he's a violent dickhead but part of that is that he's very restrained in his violence. The only times we see him do anything outright violent are when he/the hotel are under attack and then his one moment with Husk. His relationship with Husk gets brought up a lot when people make the comparison but to me like.

Throughout the show you see Husk talk shit to Alastor, literally all of the time. He heavily dislikes him (in my opinion a major part of that is bitterness over losing his own title just to become subservient to Al) but he doesn't ever really seem scared of him, beyond the one moment. He and Alastor have known eachother for years and it's pretty clear to me that Alastor sort of just. Let's him say whatever as long as he doesn't hit A Limit. Alastor's own contract is something he's very clearly sensitive about and Husk bringing that up when he was already in a bad mood. I'm not saying the way he treats Husk in this scene is good, or right but just that it makes sense in context.

I guess what really does it for me is Niffty as well? Like it's so clear she loves Al, quite literally crawling all over him and crowning him. They have a very sweet relationship in the show. She's comfortable enough with him to freely speak about her own feelings ("I really like them Alastor. They let me put on roach puppet shows without booing")

You just get the sense that like. Alastors relationship with his contractee's is. Maybe not the most outright friendly but it's not inherently violent.

And then you compare that to Valentino. Valentino is violent, but worse he's impulsive. And also kind of an idiot. Like the first time we see him it's Velvette calling Vox to come deal with him bc the man is on a rampage and killing her models. He has to be talked down from going to the hotel and killing everyone there. (Already a bad idea image wise but like. With the literal Princess of Hell in that hotel it's like. What was your plan for after that Val. What was your plan for after you attacked the only heir to the throne, the literal daughter of the devil. Christ.)

The difference here is that the only contractee we see him interact with is Angel Dust, and their relationship is fraught with abuse. Physical, sexual, and psychological. Valentino enables his drug addiction because it makes Angel more compliant. Even when he is not being violent towards Angel himself, he's still perpetuating that violence through the work he has Angel do (literally the everything about Poison makes me kind of sick to watch. Tbh, like great song but i cannot watch the mv without getting kind of upset. And look there's a conversation in there about sex work, and specifically SAFE sex work but that's not really what this post is.)

Like. There's literally a line in the show about Angel being WATERBOARDED at work. ("You know, Val, he's into that waterboarding shit now - I don't know, it's a kink." - episode 6 welcome to heaven) And this is JUST Angel's perspective. You don't see Valentino's other contracts but from the way Angel is treated, it's kind of clear that he does shit like this to anyone under his control, and thus anyone who cannot tell him No.

Look. You get the sense that Alastor is a dick, but there's no implication that he takes Niffty and Husk out back and beats them when he's aggravated (with them or otherwise.) We literally watch Valentino assault and threaten Angel because there is someone stronger than him [Valentino] who is trying to get him out of work.

[Edit (June 2nd, 2024): I want to clarify that I do like loser, baby and also Husk as a character and this is more abt my grievances with fandom comparing the two. In series, Angel needed that discussion with Husk and even thought their situations aren't 1:1 or even really that similar, it's still clear that Husks attempt to like. Empathize with him worked for Angel. That is all, thank u and goodnight]

[necrophilemagpie]

as much as i love the idea of fan kids in media with immortals in it[and i do find peoples fankid ocs generally fun], i don't think Integra would do that even adopted even whatever, at least not intentionally.

I gotta be real, I don't think she'd want to do that to Alucard unless there Really isn't another choice. One would assume he is bound to the bloodline/inheritance line and another heir is kind of just... extending the capacity of this to hurt him for at least another generation.

Unless the powers that be threaten to do something bigger than him otherwise, Integra, who seems to have intentionally picked the under-equipped for the position and non-related Penwood jr to get the organization after her death, her plan here is pretty clear. She wouldn't have a 'real' heir if she can help it because she wants Alucard free of the bond after her, she wants to be the last person with the capacity to take away his autonomy like that.

none of the characters in this show are good people exactly, but I do think she feels a kind of remorse for both her family's past likely uncountable abuse towards him, and personally for perhaps overstepping a boundary or two. because that just Will Happen if you have that kind of 100% control over someone.

Legit, that's why you rarely hear her specify something as an 'order' even when he obviously acts out, only in real key moments/after their back and forth they do for that. I genuinely do not think she likes to use the full extent of the power she has over him, just more so fill that role in his life so he feels... comfortable for a lack of a better word? There is fun powerful and there is 'this is something my father would do to you' and i reckon hard orders are a lot more of the latter

i don't think she'd trust an heir or a potential heir's heir to tell the difference.

partially because i don't know how much she trusts herself to.

[shitty-proendo-blackout-posts]

[t4tails]

Who did you vote for in the batfam VS got most annoying fandom poll 🎤

i voted for batfam bc i feel like there is a key difference between dc fans who just so happen to feel inclined towards the bat and batfam fans who refuse to read or watch anything official or acknowledge characters of color or not say shit like "so-and-so male character is so female coded" and also spread to unrelated dc character tags so much its like theyre a contagious virus

[camzverse]

fnaf, least fav character >:)

LOWKEY....? william afton. Game him, i mean (i do like movie will). but game william infuriates mee. i've posted about this before i think. i just cant stand that i cant make sense of him. he's so incredibly present in the original fnaf games yet there's so fucking little we actually know about him as a character?? booooo. he's not anywhere near interesting enough for me to like. his motivations arent clear (nonexistent) and his methods are confusing. he bores me. just the big bad. like literally whatever. is there some big piece of information about him i am missing that ties his whole character up into a neat little bow?????? idk dude i just cannot care about him. if his goals & motivations were clear and made sense (specifically regarding the murders. Whyyyy) id probably love him. alas i feel absolutely fucking nothing about him sorry william fans

((but if we're talking animatronics thennn. any of the mediocre melodies ones i guess !))

[gibbearish]

ive seen ppl saying smth in the wider plagiarism discussion to the tune of "don't worry anxious people, it's impossible to accidentally plagiarize!" and i feel like that lacks a lot of nuance that anxious brains like mine latch on to to just dismiss the possibility outright, as well as a lack of life experiences fueling it.

it is possible to "accidentally plagiarize" in that you can read something, forget about it, then a while later have your brain spit the ideas back out without telling where it got them. so of course you just assume they're yours and share them as such, because That's Where Most Of The Thoughts In Your Head Come From! and it both is and isn't plagiarism, you weren't /intending/ to pass someone's else's work off as your own, i'd even say in a way you were just as much a victim of misinformation as your audience. but you very much so did still resuse the work of someone else, even if you don't remember it.

but in my experience, this kind of thing also happens to a lot of people. you tell a friend a joke then wake up in a cold sweat two days later realizing the reason they didnt laugh was because they'd told you that joke a month ago. you reply to a friend's text and after sending you realized you ended it with the same exact phrase as theirs. you're writing edgy poetry and write a line you really like only to see it in a text post two days later saying youve already liked the post. like, it happens. so if it DOES happens and you're just honest and explain, people will understand. something like "oh shit im sorry, i totally have read that, i mustve forgotten and only remembered bits and pieces and just thought they were mine. thank you for letting me know and for the source" works wonders.

people know you can forget things. people won't automatically doubt your apology just because all true plagiarists say it was accidental. HOPEFULLY people can understand the nuance between a genuine remorseful explanation, and a thief who hoped no one would find out scrambling for excuses for why they did it. and those who can't, that's a them problem, not a you problem, you've taken responsibility for your actions as much as you can. they think the answer is simple, that the only thing stopping you from saying "yes i did it on purpose, i knew the whole time and deliberately copied them" is shame/inability to admit to your actions. but sometimes things AREN'T that simple, so imo ppl who are shitty to you for not following the script they made up for you in their head should be ignored

[zymstarz]

yeah sure that's how i'll [re]come out

[bright-and-burning]

everything SUCKS nobody TAGS anything and i am sick as a DICK

[griffther]

girlfriend, boyfriend

Closing her eyes, Steve let herself just bask in it for a moment. The feeling of her boyfriend’s hand in hers, his skin-warmed rings pressing into the slots between her fingers, his music playing quietly through the tape deck in the corner. Steve was going to miss this, but she was glad she had it while she did.

(ao3 link or keep reading under the cut)

Steve was going to vomit. Right there in the middle of the Munson driveway, she was going to have a panic attack and throw up.  

It shouldn’t be that scary, is the thing. Steve knew without a shadow of a doubt that Eddie would be accepting. He was probably the single person in Steve’s entire life – barring maybe Robin – that she knew for sure would not react badly. He’d probably smile and hold her hand and say that he’s proud of her. It would be so sweet that she’d have to try not to cry. 

She knew this – unequivocally – because Eddie was the only reason she ever even figured it out in the first place. Sitting on Eddie’s cluttered bedroom floor looking through his frankly ridiculous queer zine collection he kept in a box under his bed, she’d found it. Mixed in with all the others, there was one that stood out.  

It had described what it meant to be trans.  

It had used all kinds of words and described so many things she’d never known about: hormones and names and surgeries. It was a little bit terrifying, honestly. Mostly though, it just felt relieving. It just clicked in her head, a gentle oh, this is what I’ve been feeling. Everything just suddenly made so much more sense. 

She’d even talked to Eddie about it. Not the part about her connecting to it, but she’d asked him questions and talked with him about what was in the zine. He’d clarified things she didn’t understand and expanded on topics too short to be fully encapsulated in a small pamphlet zine he’d bought in Indy.  

That’s why she knew so firmly that Eddie would not think any less of her for what she was about to tell him. She heard him talking about it explicitly just a few weeks ago, she knew he was supportive. 

No, there was a completely different reason that Steve was on the verge of a panic attack in Eddie Munson’s driveway.  

Eddie wasn’t going to break up with her because she was a trans woman, he was going to break up with her because Eddie doesn’t date women at all. Everyone knew about it, Eddie loved men. It was one of his defining personality traits. Eddie Munson, certified Boy-Lover.  

So yeah, maybe Steve was a little bit anxious. After years of pining, they’d only finally started dating less than a year ago. She loved him and now she was going to lose him all because she had to go and realize she was a girl. Fucking typical. 

— 

Fifteen minutes later, Steve was sitting on Eddie’s bed trying not to vibrate out of her own skin. It took all of her willpower not to blurt it out the second he had opened the front door, word vomiting like she had become possessed by Robin’s spirit. “I’m trans and you’re gay and I love you but I don’t think you’ll love me anymore and I need to get to your bathroom right now before I throw up on the front stairs.”  

She hadn’t though, she’d been able to hold it in – both the words and the vomit . She had smiled – knows it must have looked more like the grimace it truly was by the look Eddie had given her – and deflected concerned questions as they made their way to Eddie’s bedroom. 

It’ll be fine. It’s okay that Eddie won’t love you anymore, you’ll still be friends and he’ll still support you.   

Her knee bounced.  

She tried not to think about if she’d be able to survive having to go back to just being friends again. If she’d be able to pretend that she didn’t still love him. 

It’ll be fine.  

Eddie was still standing by the door, hand pressed into the wood from where he’d closed it behind her only a minute ago. Things didn’t tend to get awkward between them frequently, the product of three years of friendship and pushing a year of dating making them almost impervious to awkward silences. But in that moment, Steve felt awkward.  

“So,” Eddie cut in, “are you going to explain why you look like you’re about to crawl out of your own skin or am I just supposed to start guessing?” 

“Uh-” 

“Because I will. I’m very good at endlessly thinking up increasingly ridiculous situations, you know. It’s why I’m such a good DM.” 

It was actually hard to stop the smile she felt pulling at the corners of her mouth. Despite everything, Eddie never failed to make her feel better, even if that probably wasn’t his intention. Even if they were both feeling awkward and uncomfortable, she could always count on him to still be himself. To fill the void with his nervous ramblings that always made her chest feel warm with affection.  

“No, Eddie, it’s fine. I’ll tell you. I just- I’m just nervous, that’s all.” 

He looked at her from across the bedroom then, making eye contact for the first time since her knees had practically given out as she’d collapsed to sit on his bed. Steve wasn’t the best at reading emotions most of the time, but she knew Eddie Munson like the back of her hand. And in that moment, she could tell he was almost as nervous as she was.  

She actually felt pretty guilty about that. She didn’t mean to make him anxious as well, she just couldn’t stop her own anxiety from leaking out.  

With a sigh, she patted the bed next to her. “Come here, big boy. At least come hold my hand while I spill my guts.” 

Steve’s words had the intended effect, the tension in the air immediately began to dissipate as Eddie visibly relaxed. He folded himself into the bed next to her, limbs bent into odd angles as he rested his chin on his knee, one hand clutched at his own ankle while the other reached out to gently take Steve’s hand. She felt his calloused fingertips begin pressing soft rhythms into her knuckles and she had to hold back a sob at the thought that she might never get to feel that again after tonight.  

Closing her eyes, Steve let herself just bask in it for a moment. The feeling of her boyfriend’s hand in hers, his skin-warmed rings pressing into the slots between her fingers, his music playing quietly through the tape deck in the corner. Steve was going to miss this, but she was glad she had it while she did.  

“Okay, you remember a few weeks ago when you were showing me all of your zines?” She let her eyes open slightly as she turned her head to see him nodding gently at her. “Well, I-” Her breath caught in her throat. For all she had thought about this moment for over two weeks now, she still had no clue how to say this part.  

Steve felt Eddie squeeze her hand and offer her a small reassuring smile. “It’s okay, I promise. No matter what it is, it’ll be okay.” 

The sincerity in his voice almost made her words catch again, but they came pouring out of her too quickly to stop this time. 

“The zine about being trans made me realize that I’m a woman.”  

It felt like time stood still for a moment afterwards. Steve felt the knot that had been sitting in her esophagus for weeks begin to loosen slightly. It was terrifying of course, but it also felt so incredibly freeing to say those words out loud. I’m a woman. It made her flush slightly, with pride instead of the embarrassment that she’d expected.  

Slowly, she raised her eyes up to meet Eddie. He was flushed too, color high on his cheeks as he absolutely beamed at her.  

“That’s amazing, sweetheart. I’m so happy for you.” 

God, Steve was going to cry. She had known that she didn’t need to be worried about this part, had told herself over and over that he wouldn’t be upset. That didn’t mean it didn’t feel nice to hear those words though, and it didn’t mean she wasn’t still terrified for what would come next. 

Eddie looked so soft in that moment. Hair pulled up into a ponytail high on his head, strands falling out to frame his face. He was wearing one of Steve’s old t-shirts from the swim team and worn black sweatpants. He looked so soft and Steve loved him so much. She loved him and he wasn’t going to love her anymore. Eddie loved men, something he now knew that Steve was not.  

“I’m sorry.” 

It came out as just a whisper, a confession released into the space between them. Steve watched multiple emotions flicker across Eddie’s face before landing on confusion. 

“Sorry? Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for, you know that.”  

Steve was shaking her head before he had even finished. 

“No, I do though. I tried so hard to ignore it because I know you’ll have to break up with me now that I’m not a man, but I felt like I was lying by not telling you and we had always promised not to lie to each other and I just -” 

Her voice cut off abruptly as the ball formed in her throat again, even tighter than before. Steve’s eyes had cut away to the wall at some point and she couldn’t get herself to look back at Eddie again. This was going to be a lot easier to get out without looking at him, even if she felt a little bad about it. She took a shaky breath and pushed on before Eddie had the chance to say anything. 

“I know you only like boys. You talk about it all the time, Eddie, how much you’re attracted to men. How much you’re attracted to me as a man. If you only love men and I’m not a man, then you won’t be able to love me. It’s that simple. And I’m just so fucking sorry that I ruined this. That it’s my fault.” 

The room was quiet around them for a few long moments, the only sounds being Steve’s labored breathing and the music still playing in the background. Steve was staring at the laces on her shoes, desperately trying to hold herself together in front of the man next to her.  

Suddenly, there were fingers at her chin. Eddie gently lifted her head, forcing their eyes to meet. Steve wasn’t sure what she was expecting to see there – anger, sadness, regret – but it certainly wasn’t a smile and something akin to relief.  

“You’re right, Harrington, I do love men. But you’ve got one bit wrong there, sweetheart. I don’t just love men.  I'll be the first to tell you that I certainly tend to find myself attracted to dudes more often than chicks, but that doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy myself with the right woman every once in a while. And you, my love, are absolutely the right woman. I’m sorry I ever made you think otherwise.” 

Steve was frozen for longer than she cared to admit after hearing those words. She could feel where Eddie had slipped his hand from her chin to cradle her cheek instead, rough fingers rubbing soothing motions into her skin. He didn’t try to keep talking, just let the words hang in the air for Steve to process. She’d spent weeks now convinced that this moment would be the end of their relationship. That Steve would come out and Eddie would have to break her heart. She had absolutely no clue what to do with herself now that she knew that might not happen.  

“So,” her voice broke and she tried to clear her throat before going on. “So you aren’t going to break up with me?” 

Steve hated how pathetic she sounded in that moment. Eddie had just called her “the right woman” and yet there she was still questioning him. Still needing reassurance. 

Eddie lifted his other hand so that he was holding both of Steve’s cheeks, cradling her face in his palms. He made sure she was looking directly at him before he spoke.  

“No, St-“ He cut himself off abruptly and cleared his throat. “No, baby. I’m not going to break up with you. I’ve told you before and I meant it, you’re not getting rid of me. I love you, I love you so much it’s fucking ridiculous. Even if I had never even thought about another woman before in my life, I’d still love you. Nothing’s going to change that, I promise.” 

Steve was crying. It was impossible to stop them at that point, she just had to let the large tears pour down her cheeks and onto Eddie’s hands. She could feel him try to brush them away with the pads of his thumbs, but they were coming too quickly to stop.  

Eddie leaned forward to press their foreheads together, whispering gentle words of love and praise into the spaces between Steve’s choked sobs. I love you, you’re so gorgeous, my sweet girl, I love you so much.  

It felt like every cell in Steve’s entire body was singing. She couldn’t breathe through the overwhelming feelings of relief and adoration coursing through her. God, she loved Eddie so much. She loved him so much it was painful.  

Steve let the anxiety of the last few weeks seep out of her body as she moved slightly to bury her face into Eddie’s shoulder. He let his hands fall from her face to wrap around her instead, one hand going up to card through her hair while the other ran patterns up and down her spine. Steve’s hands were clenched uselessly into the front of Eddie’s shirt, clinging on like her life depended on it. It felt like if she let go, even for a moment, she’d drift away. Would lose this moment like sand between her fingers.  

Steve wasn’t sure how long they sat like that, her face pressed into Eddie’s shoulder as she slowly regained her composure. Eddie had started pressing gentle kisses on the crown of her head as he continued to murmur praise and reassurances into her hair.  

By the time she had the strength to lift her head again, she knew she must have looked like a wreck. Hair in disarray from Eddie’s hands and lips, eyes bloodshot, cheeks red and tear-stained. But from the look Eddie gave her when they made eye contact again, you’d think she must have been the best thing he’d ever seen in his life. It was almost enough to make her start crying again, but she was able to hold it back this time. 

“Sorry, I probably got snot all over your shirt.” Steve’s voice was rough from crying, but she spoke softly enough that it didn’t sound too jarring in the now-quiet room. She didn’t know when the music had cut off, the tape must have ended at some point during her little episode. It was nice though, in a way. Usually, they both hated too much silence, needed to fill the space with something at all times. Now though, now the silence felt safe. It felt like they were sitting in a bubble, just the two of them separated from the outside world. 

Eddie laughed softly, shaking his head at her words. “I don’t care, it’s your shirt anyways.” 

That was true enough, but it didn’t mean that she  didn’t still feel bad for potentially ruining what she knew was one of Eddie’s favorite shirts.  

His eyes were so soft as he looked at her, Steve felt like she could combust. Eddie gently brushed her hair off of her forehead before leaning forward to press a kiss into her skin there.  

“How are you feeling? Better now that you’ve gotten it all out?” 

Steve smiled softly, let the corners of her mouth just barely pull up as she gave him a nod. It was true, she really was feeling better. It was slow, but she was starting to process that this was real . She didn’t have to be scared about this anymore, she could just let herself feel happy and loved by her boyfriend who was not planning on leaving her. 

“Yeah, I- I think I’m feeling okay now. I just got really overwhelmed, but it wasn’t even really in a bad way? I just- I’d spent weeks trying to prepare myself for the worst possible outcome, I hadn’t even let myself consider anything else.” 

They’d turned fully to face one another on the bed at some point, Eddie’s legs folded in front of him while Steve’s knees were pulled up to her chest. She let her chin fall to rest on top of her knees as Eddie’s left hand carded gently through her hair. His other hand dropped to pick up one of her own, letting Steve fall into her practiced routine of fiddling with Eddie’s rings when she got nervous. 

“Do you feel comfortable telling me a little more? We don’t have to talk about it right now if you’re too tired or overwhelmed, but I just had some questions about what you’re comfortable with.” 

Jesus Christ, Eddie must have been on a personal mission to kill Steve before the day way over. Her heart felt too big for her chest, she was sure she would simply combust. She bit her bottom lip in a fruitless attempt to hold back the frankly embarrassingly love-struck smile spreading across her face. 

“Yeah, you can ask me anything, babe. I trust you, I know you’re not trying to be invasive or anything.” 

Eddie sat up a little straighter as he flashed her a smile. He had the same look in his eye as he got when he was planning out a new campaign, like there were so many options that he didn’t even know where to start.  

“Right okay well, uh, first I guess I just want to make sure I’m on the same page as you. Like, you called yourself a woman so I’m guessing you want to go by more feminine terms, but I don’t want to just assume, you know?” 

Steve nodded absently as she responded, “No, you’re right! I think I’d like all the feminine stuff. Like, pronouns and descriptors and everything, I’d like to try having them all be feminine. I mean, I don’t know for sure I’ll like all of them because I haven’t tried it yet, but the thought of it makes me feel good at least.” 

Eddie smiled warmly as he brought her hand up to his mouth and pressed his lips to her knuckles. There was a gleam in his eye as he looked back up at her. 

“So I get to call you my girlfriend then?” 

Steve felt the blood rush to her cheeks and her breath catch in her throat. My girlfriend. God, she was so fucked.  

“Yeah, yes, please. I’d like that very much.”  

He smirked at her and pressed another kiss into the back of her hand before sitting back up straight again. His face shifted as he took on a more serious tone.  

“Okay, I can definitely do that for you, sweetheart. But that leads to my follow up question: do you want me to call you those things in public? I don’t want to out you or rush you into coming out or anything, so I need to know what you’re comfortable with. Should I only use the correct pronouns in private? Are there certain people that it’s okay in front of and not others?” 

Steve took a deep breathe and let it out slowly, trying to force her shoulders to relax as she did so. She’d thought about this, of course she had. That doesn’t mean she had an easy answer for it though.  

“I mean… I don’t really know yet, I guess? I know that’s a cop-out, but I just don’t know what to expect yet honestly. I want to tell the party, I know that for sure. And as much as I want to believe they’ll all be okay with it eventually, I know that I can’t expect all of them to understand immediately. I’ll probably never be able to be publicly out here in Hawkins either, that’s just not feasible. Maybe if we moved somewhere outside of Indiana, but that’s just- I don’t know. It’s a lot to think about all at once, I guess.” 

Eddie had been gently rubbing his thumb along the lines of her fingers as she spoke. It helped keep her from spiraling too bad, getting consumed by all of the endless possibilities, both positive and negative.  

“Well, first of all, I’ll support you no matter what, St- sweetheart. You know that. I think it’s a good idea to tell the party, and I don’t think anyone will react badly. They all love you. A few of them might be a little confused, sure, but I’ll be there with you to help. You won’t have to do anything on your own.” He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as he flashed her a tight-lipped smile. “As for Hawkins, I’m unfortunately inclined to agree with you. The assholes here probably wouldn’t take too well to it. But we were planning on moving out of this shit hole after the kids graduated anyways. The world is our oyster, babygirl. I’ll take you anywhere you want, I promise.” 

Steve felt her eyes start to mist over again as she pulled him in for kiss. It wasn’t perfect, both of them were smiling too much for it to be much more than their teeth knocking together.  

“ Babygirl, Jesus Christ. I can’t fucking believe you,” Steve muttered against Eddie’s lips.  

He snorted quietly as he pulled away. 

“What, you don’t like it? I think it’s got a certain ring to it. I can switch to big girl if you like that better.”  

He winked at her as she felt her cheeks heat up again. She just rolled her eyes playfully and smiled back.  

“We both know you’re going to come up with a lot more pet names than just those, Munson. Might as well let you get it out of your system.” 

He hummed as he gave her hand a gentle tug.  

“Speaking of names… How are you feeling about yours?” 

At that, she gave a loud groan and flung herself back on the bed dramatically.  

“God, I wish I knew. I mean, I know that I don’t want to keep going by Steve, at least in private and with the party once I tell them. But I don’t even know where to start with trying to pick a new one out and it’s going to be so confusing for everyone to try and switch between names in public versus in private.” She let out another groan, more frustrated this time. “It’s just so complicated.” 

While she had been speaking, Eddie had moved up the bed to settle next to her. His head propped up on one hand while the other wrapped around her waist to draw patterns into the skin where her shirt had ridden up.  

“Well,” he drew the word out as he seemed to think it over. “We can always try out different names here, just the two of us. I can call you whatever you like and you can see how it fits. You know me, I’ll be coming up with a thousand different nicknames for you anyways. I was able to get a good few out of just Steve, imagine what I could do when I have something better to work with.” 

Steve’s eyes lit up at his words. She turned over onto her side and grabbed his face between her hands as she beamed at him. 

“You just gave me an idea! Until I figure out a new permanent name, why don’t we use Stevie? You call me that all the time anyways, it's your favorite nickname for me. And you could even use it in public!” 

A smile spread across Eddie’s face as he leaned forward to press another kiss to her forehead, holding her close as he took a deep breath. Steve knew here was no way he could smell anything more than her hairspray, maybe the sweat that always gathered at her hairline, but he breathed it in like it was the best smell in the world. Her heart ached in her chest as she tried to pull him in even closer.  

“Sounds perfect, Stevie.”